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| Munich Secession | |
|---|---|
 Poster by Franz von Stuck for the Seventh International Art Exhibition in Munich, 1897 | |
| Years active | 1892–1938 and 1946–present |
| Location | Germany |
| Major figures | Bernhard Buttersack, Ludwig Dill, Bruno Piglhein, Ludwig von Herterich, Paul Hoecker, Albert von Keller, Gotthardt Kuehl, Hugo von Habermann, Robert Poetzelberger, Franz von Stuck, Fritz von Uhde and Heinrich von Zügel |
TheMunich Secession (German Münchener Secession) was an association of visual artists who broke away from the mainstream Munich Artists' Association in 1892, to promote and defend their art in the face of what they considered officialpaternalism and itsconservative policies. They acted as a form ofcooperative, using their influence to assure their economic survival and obtain commissions. In 1901, the association split again when some dissatisfied members formed the groupPhalanx. Another split occurred in 1913, with the founding of the New Munich Secession.
By the end of the nineteenth century, more artists lived in Munich than lived in Vienna and Berlin put together. However, the art community there was dominated by the conservative attitudes of the Munich Artists' Association and its supporters in the government. These attitudes found expression in the official "mission statements", written by the so-called "Prince of Painters" (Malerfürst)Franz von Lenbach. Matters came to a head in 1891 when the Prince-RegentLuitpold of Bavaria founded the Prinzregent-Luitpold-Stiftung zur Förderung der Kunst, des Kunstgewerbes und des Handwerks in München, an art foundation devoted to promoting traditionalhistory painting in the service of the state. This foundation created and maintained a high level of artistic quality and brought world attention to theAcademy of Fine Arts, but was firmly opposed toimpressionism,expressionism,symbolism and other contemporary trends in the art world.
Another factor was the complete financial failure of an exhibition in 1888 at theGlaspalast, organized by the Artists' Association. This led to a bitter debate about responsibility and the exhibition's content which grew so furious, it attracted the attention of the Ministry of State for Science and Art.[1]
To address this situation, a group of artists with a progressive outlook gathered together in 1892, announced their separation from the official Artists' Association and established the Munich Secession, with an eye toward exhibiting at the upcomingWorld's Columbian Exposition. They called for a transformation in the ideas of what constitutes art and promoted the idea of an artists' freedom to present works directly to the public.
Man soll auf unseren Ausstellungen Kunst sehen und jedes Talent, ob älterer oder neuerer Richtung, dessen Werke München zur Ehre gereichen, soll seine Blüte reich entfalten können. (One should see, in our exhibitions, every form of art, whether old or new, which will redound to the glory of Munich, whose art will be allowed to develop to its full flowering.)
In this statement of principles, the artists declared their intentions to move away from outmoded principles and a conservative conception of what art is.[2]
On 4 April 1892, ninety-six artists who had resigned from the official association, established the Association of Visual Artists of Munich.Bruno Piglhein was elected the first president andPaul Hoecker became the first secretary. In a few months the original name gave way to the more popular name: Munich Secession.
Financial support initially came from three sources:Georg Hirth, a writer and journalist who coined the word "secession" to describe the spirit of the various art movements at that time. In 1896, he would establish theArt-Nouveau magazineJugend;Georg von Vollmar, editor of theDemocratic Socialist party's official organ; andHans Veit zu Toerring-Jettenbach [de], a member of the liberal opposition to the government's policies.
That same year saw the creation of another breakaway association, theLuitpold-Gruppe [de], composed of more moderate artists who wanted to maintain the high-quality standards of the academy. TheVienna Secession followed five years later, and theBerlin Secession was established in 1898.
At first, the secession had some difficulty finding a building for their exhibitions. The city of Frankfurt offered to provide the necessary space and 500,000gold marks, if the group would move there permanently.[3] Their first exhibition actually took place at Berlin's National Exhibition Building (now known asULAP [de]) early in 1893.
Baurat (city construction supervisor) Franz von Brandl provided the secession with some free land at the corner ofPrinzregentenstraße and Pilotystraße. Construction began immediately and their debut exhibition took place on 16 July 1893, in the first portion of the building to be completed. Over 4,000 visitors came to see 876 works by 297 artists.
The success of this effort eventually allowed them to come to an agreement with Franz von Lenbach and the Artists' Association. As a result, the art exhibition building on theKönigsplatz (now theStaatliche Antikensammlungen) was transferred to the secession in 1897.
In 1933, theNational Socialist party began their crusade to bring all forms of artistic expression under their control: a process known asGleichschaltung (bringing into line). Artists were eventually required to obtain state endorsement for all of their works. Those who were considered "degenerate" were not allowed to paint.[4] In 1938, the Munich Secession was dissolved as part of theKulturellen Säuberung (cultural cleansing) process.
Following the end of World War II in 1946, theNeue Gruppe [de] and theNeue Münchner Künstlergenossenschaft (New Munich Artists' Association) were founded and led to the establishment of theBundesverband Bildender Künstlerinnen und Künstler (Federal Association of Visual Artists).
In 1992, the secession celebrated its centennial and, in March of the following year, the Society of Friends and Sponsors of the Munich Secession was created to support the secession's continuing goals, maintain the Secessionsgalerie and promote exhibitions.
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